Report: Man City to be relegated after guilty verdict

Manchester City are reportedly facing a catastrophic points deduction that will guarantee their relegation from the Premier League this season.

A new report from the Daily Mail has detailed the extreme punishment currently being drawn up for the reigning champions.

According to the report, the club will also face an additional points deduction next season to ensure they remain in the Championship for a minimum of two years.

The looming sanctions stem from an independent commission recently finding Manchester City guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial regulations.

The systemic infractions occurred between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons, casting a massive shadow over a highly successful era for the club.

During that specific nine-year window, the club secured three Premier League titles (2011/12, 2013/14, 2017/18), one FA Cup (2010/11), and three League Cups (2013/14, 2015/16, 2017/18).

Manchester City have consistently denied any wrongdoing and immediately launched an appeal against the independent commission's findings.

However, the Daily Mail's Oliver Holt reports that Premier League chiefs are actively pushing to announce the punishment before the appeal process concludes.

The appeal is currently ongoing and is unlikely to reach a final decision before the end of January 2027.

While rumours previously circulated that the club could be completely expelled from the football league or sent down to League Two, the report clarifies this will not be the case.

Expelling the club entirely is viewed as a move that would plunge both the Premier League and the English Football League into unprecedented chaos.

Instead, the proposed punishment involves a swinging points deduction applied to the current 2026/27 campaign.

This initial deduction would be mathematically severe enough to guarantee that Enzo Maresca's side finishes in the relegation zone. The punishment would then continue into the second tier.

Upon their demotion, Manchester City would reportedly receive another substantial points penalty for the 2027/28 Championship season.

This secondary deduction is specifically designed to keep the club adrift of the promotion places, effectively confining them to the Championship for no fewer than two seasons.

The unprecedented scenario relies entirely on the English Football League agreeing to enforce a Premier League sporting sanction within their own competition.